About Kris Bales

Kris, who blogs at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, is a homeschooling mom to three amazing kids and wife to her unbelievably supportive husband. She enjoys photography, running, and drinking sweet tea.
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Some of my favorite Christmas memories are embedded in not one particular event, but a tradition. From as early as I can remember (and I’m told I was about 3 when one of the memories I have described to my mom took place) until my grandparents passed away, we had Christmas Eve dinner at my grandparents’ house.

The event included dozens of cousins, aunt and uncles, and even my great-grandmother and great aunt. It always started at 7 p.m. My grandmother was never ready – always still wearing her messy “cooking clothes” – and the gifts she was giving were never wrapped, just stacked up in her bedroom. My mom and my aunt usually wound up wrapping them while my grandmother got ready.

She always had a gift for everyone – even unexpected guests. She always bought extra for just that reason. The adults never ate quickly enough for the kids and we, the kids, asked “Is it time to open presents yet” no less than a dozen times.

I love those memories.

I think it’s important to create family memories. They provide ties for families as they grow and change. I rarely see some of those cousins of mine anymore, but we have those shared connections when we do get together.

How can you create shared memories for your family?

Special Holiday Meals

I could probably name off at least half of the items on the menu at my grandmother’s house. They weren’t elaborate, but they were family favorites. Some families have a special breakfast Christmas morning – breakfast casserole or cinnamon rolls, anyone? Others may have a special lunch or dinner. It doesn’t have to be anything spectacular. It’s the consistency that’s important.

Of course, the extra special meals may create their own memories. I still remember the year that my step-dad’s grandmother visited with us at Christmas. We ate Cornish hens and wild rice on the good China.

Special Traditions

The traditions can be big – like the family dinner at my grandmother’s – but they can be small, too. My mom used to let my sister and I open one gift on Christmas Eve. It was always PJs. I always let my sister sleep in my room on Christmas Eve. Okay, okay. It was so she wouldn’t sneak in to see what Santa left before I woke up, but still.

Now that I’m the mom, I try to make sure we have eggnog when we decorate the Christmas tree. My youngest usually puts the angel on top of the tree – a job handed down from her older sister.

Special Ornaments

Ornaments can create memories of their own. We have the applesauce/cinnamon/glue ornaments that my oldest made with her American Girls troop years ago. Then there are the new Hallmark ornaments that we purchase every year – a special one that I choose for our family and the one the my mom gives us.

We have homemade ornaments that bring back memories for all of us. There are those that the kids made, the one I made in elementary school, the one that one of my best friends made for me in high school, and the one that my 5th grade teacher gave me. My kids may roll their eyes a bit when they hear these stories again and again, but I think they secretly enjoy them.

Seasonal Events

My family never really went to Christmas Eve services when I was growing up. (We were probably on our way to my grandmother’s house!) However, for the last several years, my family has enjoyed our church’s Christmas Eve service. I hope we’re creating memories for our kids. Other families enjoy Advent calendar activities throughout the Christmas season.

Serve Together

Finally, a great way to create memories with your family is to look for opportunities to serve together as a family. This may mean spending time serving at a soup kitchen, making meals for neighbors or shut-ins, or singing Christmas carols at a nursing home. What you do depends on the personality of your family, but whatever you choose, serving others is a wonderful way to spend time together as a family – any time of year!

Fall is the time of year when most of the animal kingdom is storing up food and extra fat layers for winter. That doesn’t mean we have to! Fall can be the perfect time to make some positive changes to your health and fitness routine – or start one!

My first successful weight-loss story (because there were a bunch of unsuccessful ones) began in the fall. More specifically, it began the week of Thanksgiving 2009. Yes, you read that right. I made one last ditch effort to change my life four years ago and I decided to begin three days before Thanksgiving.

I lost four pounds the week that most people gain that much.

There wasn’t some magic pill behind my success. I think it was just because I had something to prove that week and once I convinced myself I could do it, I just kept going. I lost nearly 90 pounds over the course of two years and am currently trying to learn to keep it off. (Which, despite what anyone may say, is much harder than getting it off in the first place.)

So, why is fall such a great time to begin to write your weight-loss success story? One of the best reasons is the fact that the cooler weather makes fall a great time for becoming more active. Whether you’ve been stuck in a stuffy gym all summer or have been pouring sweat being active outside, the crisp air and gorgeous colors lend a new excitement to getting outside for running, walking, biking, or whatever you enjoy.

If you have been active outdoors all summer, the lower temperatures make it easier to go farther and pick up the pace. Even if you live in an area of the country where fall is really cool, my outdoor workout philosophy is: When it’s cold outside I know I’m going to warm up once I get moving; when it’s hot outside, I’m only going to get hotter.

photo credit imaffo on flickr

In addition to the cooler weather, the influx of a whole new batch of seasonal produce is the perfect catalyst for getting out of mealtime ruts. Apples, the quintessential fall fruit, make a delicious, healthy snack – as long as you’re not baking them in a pie or frying them in a fritter every time you eat them!

An apple along with a piece of string cheese, some yogurt, or peanut butter are all excellent choices.

In addition to apples, fall is a great time for soups. Most broth-based soups are good, healthy choices. With all of the fall produce, a veggie stew or even chili with lean meat (or no meat) makes a quick and easy lunch or dinner, especially when you add the convenience of a slow cooker.

Maybe one of the best reasons to revamp your health and fitness routine (or start one) is the simple fact that fall is followed by winter. You know what that means – Thanksgiving, Christmas parties, candy, baked goodies and a generally more sedentary season. If you start improving your exercise and eating habits now, they’ll be well on their way to becoming habit by the time temptations become abundant.

Not only that, but the darker, shorter days of winter can result in the onset of seasonal depression for many people. A healthy diet and regular exercise can go a long way toward alleviating those symptoms. It’s hard to convince yourself to eat right and exercise once those blue feelings have begun, but much easier if those good habits are already in place.

It doesn’t matter if you’re already somewhat active and eating well or if you haven’t even begun to make the changes you’d like to make. Fall is a great time to revamp your health and fitness routine – or start one! The sense of purpose can be very motivating.

What changes do you need to make to improve your overall health and activity levels?

Shock and disbelief are the usual reactions when I tell people that I started my weight loss journey three days before Thanksgiving 2009. “You started the week of Thanksgiving?!?” is the most common first response.

That’s because we think of the holiday season – Thanksgiving through New Years – as a time of overindulgence. There is so much food, so many parties, so many treats, and so much temptation. Most people go into the holidays hoping not to gain too much, forget trying to lose or maintain. The holidays don’t have to be such a time of struggle, though. Over the last four years, I’ve picked up some tips that help me navigate the holiday season without too much damage to my health and fitness goals.

1. Choose your favorites.

First, at big holiday meals, such as Thanksgiving, I choose only my favorite foods. The first year that I was losing weight, my favorites weren’t even the healthy options, for the most part. I’d rather have the dressing and sweet potato casserole instead of the green beans – so I did! I decided that eating the green beans to make me feel healthier was just going to add more calories to my plate.

I decided I’d rather spend my calorie budget on the yummy foods that I could only get during the holiday season. Besides, we live in the South. The green beans probably weren’t all that healthy anyway!

2. Moderation is key.

This is a fact all year long, but particularly around the holidays. Since I had decided to only have my favorite foods and knowing the many of those were calorie heavy, I knew I had to exercise portion control. I found that a small serving of most foods really does satisfy the craving without going overboard or feeling deprived.

Even now, my kids know that somebody has to sacrifice two fries when we go out to eat. It sounds crazy, but those two fries allow me a taste of a food I rarely eat anymore (not as a full serving at least) without overindulging.

3. Change your tastes.

By the second year of my weight loss journey, I had started to successfully change my eating habits by developing a taste for new or healthier foods. Instead of the sugar-filled sweet potato casserole, I brought a much lighter sweet potato brulee to our family potluck. Instead of the calorie-laden broccoli casserole, I brought roasted broccoli. I also brought the green beans – of the fresh and steamed variety.

Everybody loved the changes. Well, except one cousin who asked that I bring the sugar-filled sweet potato casserole the next year. You can’t win over everyone. The green beans were a huge hit, though, and have been requested multiple times. I love when healthy tastes good!

4. Drink water.

When you’re eating more calories than normal, you don’t want to drink an excess of calories on top of that. Plus, if you drink a glass or two of water before you eat, you feel fuller, which goes a long way toward increasing your willpower. Another option is to eat a light, broth-based soup half an hour or so before your main meal.

5. Don’t skip your workout.

The busyness of the holiday season can easily derail a workout routine. Be sure you’re making time to be active. While everyone else is taking a post-meal nap, take a brisk walk. A quick internet search should reveal some early-morning turkey trots in your area. These 5K runs or walks have become very popular all over the country and are a healthy, invigorating way to start your Thanksgiving day.

6. Focus on the true meaning.

Finally, make sure that you take some to focus on the true meaning of the holiday season. Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks for our blessings. Health is an incredible gift that we often take for granted. The ability to get out and go for a walk or a run is a blessing for which to be thankful.

Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of our Savior. We can do that without cookies, candy, and fruitcake.

As the holiday season approaches, instead of feeling overwhelmed and defeated, use these tips to help you navigate the temptations and challenge yourself to make wise food and activity choices. Come January 2, you’ll be glad you did!

Heidi St. John is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.